Baby It's Cold Outside
by standing-in-the-doorway
Summary: A Christmas fic that takes place between Ted & Bad Eggs. Finished.


Buffy watched Angel carefully as he dusted the vampire he was battling. He claimed that he was completely healed from his near death experience at the hands of Spike and Drusilla but she still worried about him. But watching him fight, he looked fine. In fact he looked more than fine - he looked delicious, all hard muscles and deadly grace. He caught her staring at him and smiled.

"What?" She blushed, realizing she had been caught checking him out. 

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Ya know, it's your first time out since...." she trailed off. The image that had been haunting her for weeks, of him in that church so close to death, was flashing before her eyes. She had never been so scared in her life, including when she went to her death at the Master's hands. At least then, she knew she was saving the world. If she had lost Angel, she knew the world would go on, but she didn't know if she could. His hand on her arm brought her back from the memory and she found him standing close to her, his powerful body invading her personal space in the way that always made her knees a little weak. 

"I'm okay, Buffy. Everything's fine now." Gently, he tilted her chin up and brushed his lips lightly over hers. Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and went up on her tiptoes to meet him for another kiss. His tongue ran over the seal of her lips and she parted them, granting him entrance. His large hands smoothed over her back, pressing her tightly to his body, to the places where only she fit. Buffy felt her entire body tingle at the contact. She craved him, craved his expert kisses that made the rest of the world drop away. Finally, he pulled away, giving her a chance to breathe. "You're cold," he said, seeing her shiver. "My place is right around the corner. Why don't I make you some tea so you can warm up before you head home?" Buffy was pretty sure that her shiver had more to do with the thrill of his kiss than the windy December night, but she wasn't about to turn down his invitation so she nodded and laced her fingers through his, letting him lead the way. The night air was crisp as they strolled down the block together, their way lighted by the full moon and the Christmas lights that decorated the houses. Walking in companionable silence, they reached his apartment and he opened the door.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the couch. "I'll go make tea." She settled herself on his plush leather couch and listened to him clank around in the kitchen. Her eyes roamed his apartment which she had come to be familiar with in the past few weeks of nursing him back to health. She loved that he brought her here, that he was comfortable with her presence, that he trusted her in his private sanctuary. Finally he came back with the tea. "How's your mom doing?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"She's kind of repressed the whole Ted thing. Hasn't mentioned it, acting like it never happened, and shut out all the supernatural stuff. But I think she still feels bad about it because she has been going overboard with the Christmas shopping." She pulled her legs up onto the couch as she sipped at her tea. She could feel the hot liquid flowing down her throat, the warmth spreading through her chest. 

"Speaking of Christmas, I have something for you." He went over to his desk and picked up a package wrapped in simple red paper. Sitting back down on the couch, he handed her the gift and watched anxiously as she ripped at the paper. From the second he gave it to her, he wanted to grab it back. It was a stupid idea and she would hate it. For her part, Buffy was enjoying the nervousness she could sense radiating from Angel - it was absolutely adorable. She tore into the wrapping paper and lifted out a framed drawing of her, Xander, and Willow sitting at a table at the Bronze. It was simply done, charcoal on white paper, but showed extraordinary talent and love with every stroke.

"Angel, this is, wow, this is amazing. Did you draw this?"

"Yeah," he answered shyly, still anxious about her reception of the gift. "Do you like it?"

"It's is wonderful. I love..." You, you, say I love you, her mind screamed. It was the perfect time - it was Christmas, he had just given her an amazing, thoughtful gift, and she had never felt it more. "It," she finished, pushing the frighteningly intense feelings away. "I have something for you too, but it's at home. I'll have to give it to you later." While that was the truth, Buffy was glad that she might have a chance to get him something else. He had gotten her a beautiful, hand made gift and she had gotten him a plain old book.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he told her, tenderly brushing a lock of hair out of her face. She placed the picture down on the coffee table so she could give him a hug.

"Thank you so much, Angel. This is a great gift." She hugged him tightly and tilted her head up for a kiss. He obliged, pressing his lips to hers and letting his arms slip around her waist. As their kisses tended to do with more and more frequency, it quickly became passionate. Their mouths mated furiously and Angel crushed Buffy against him, feeling her soft breasts and hardening nipples against his chest in a way that was bound to drive him crazy. In all his 250 years, no one had ever inspired as much need in him as his little blonde Slayer did. His hands slid under the hem of her sweater to touch the soft skin that he desparately wanted to feel pressing against his own nakedness.

Angel's mouth left hers and wandered to the side, nibbling at her earlobe and laving her throat. His hands became more daring, his thumbs brushing against the underside of her breasts, eliciting a little sigh from Buffy. Despite his cool skin, his touch warmed her so much more than the tea had. Everything he did to her felt so good and she could only imagine what things would feel like when they went further. The idea of giving him her virginity was becoming less and less scary, which was frightening in itself, but when he was holding her and kissing her like this, she knew she wouldn't deny him anything. She felt absolutely lost in his kisses and she loved it. When she was with him, she felt safe and loved and nothing else seem to matter all that much. All she needed was to have him at her side and she could face anything life would throw her way. Finding her lips again, Angel shifted on the couch to get more comfortable and she moved with him, attempting to unfold her legs without breaking away from him. His hands slid down to cup her ass, lifting her slightly and forcing her shoulders back so that he was lying half on top of her.

The scent of her arousal floated up to Angel as they made out and he groaned her name, his kisses becoming hungrier. Knowing that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her turned him on so much and more than anything he wanted to rip both their clothes off and make love to her. But even if her body was ready, it didn't mean that she was truly ready for sex and he didn't want to rush her, to make her regret it. He had been waiting his whole life for her so there was no rush, he would wait for her as long as she needed. And when she was ready, he promised himself, he would give her the world, every pleasure that she could imagine. Knowing that tonight was not the night for them, he finally had to pull away. He sat up, running his fingers through his hair under the guise of straightening it out, but really to keep his hands occupied so they wouldn't grab her and pull her into the bedroom.

"It's getting late. I should probably go," Buffy said, sitting up as well and readjusting her clothes.

"Yeah, probably. Do you want me to walk you home?" 

"No, that's okay. I think I can manage on my own." She didn't really want to leave in the first place. She wanted to be with him, to even stay the night, but knew that she shouldn't. And she could use walk to spend more time with him, but again knew that she, they, needed to cool off. She picked up her gift and he walked her to the door. "I really love the drawing, Angel. It was so sweet of you." Looking up at him, her hazel eyes locked on his dark chocolate ones and suddenly, the air grew thick with emotion.

"Buffy, I..." Her heart leapt into her throat and her pulse raced in her ears - he was going to tell her that he loved her! She could see it in his eyes, in the way he looked at her, a mix of adoration and anxiousness. As they stood there in his doorway, she knew she had never wanted to hear anything more and never wanted to say it in return so very badly. The words were on the tip of his tongue. Angel wanted to say them, but they were just too scary, too true to be spoken. "Merry Christmas, Buffy," he said instead. She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly.

"Merry Christmas Angel."


End file.
